A mom with a lot on her mind looking for an outlet for her writing and an expanded friend base. I am the Crew Chief of my family.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Tantalizing Thursday-Florida

Welcome to Tantalizing Thursday on Chief 187™Chatter.

NASCAR returns to Daytona this weekend for its annual race run around the July 4th holiday. Restrictor plate racing in summer has brought some spectacular scenes that rival a fireworks display!

This week I’m thrilled to herald the return of Chef Eddie to Tantalizing Thursday!

His succulent recipes are an experience in addition to scrumptious! It is always my great pleasure to feature his unique, tasty, and fantastic dishes.

Now, without further ado, is Chef Eddie in his own words:

It is my pleasure to be able to contribute to Tantalizing Thursday with a quick little story, directly quoted from Jimmy Buffet’s website for his restaurant, Cheeseburger In Paradise in Key West, Florida.

“The myth of the cheeseburger in paradise goes back to a long trip on my first boat, the Euphoria. We had run into some very rough weather crossing the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and broke our new bowsprit. The ice in our box had melted, and we were doing the canned-food-and-peanut-butter diet.
The vision of a piping hot cheeseburger kept popping into my mind. We limped up the Sir Francis Drake Channel and into Roadtown on the island of Tortola, where a brand new marina and bar sat on the end of the dock like a mirage. We secured the boat, kissed the ground, and headed for the restaurant.
To our amazement, we were offered a menu that featured an American cheeseburger. We gave particular instructions to the waiter - to which very little attention was paid. It didn't matter, for they were the realization of my fantasy burgers on the trip. That's the true story.”
~Jimmy Buffet~

Now I’ve been in Jimmy’s establishment in Key West and have had several of his cheeseburgers. One in particular just made my tummy feel like it was smilin’! Since the management wouldn’t come off the secret to it, I decided to try to make my own. I came up with what I call, the ‘Killer’ Eddie Burger. The secret is to put almost everything in the patty, then fry it.

First, fry up the bacon until crispy and place on a paper plate and crush into bacon bits. Next, in a large bowl, mix the pound of ground sirloin, bacon bits, the raw egg and all the other seasonings together until well blended. (the seasoning amounts are done by eye, I don’t know how much, just SOME!!) Actually about 6 tsp each. Next, start with 1 cup of Honey BBQ Sauce and add to the mix until well blended. Stick your nose in close and if it smells like the sauce, that’s enough. Lift out a fist full and if it takes a few seconds to fall apart, then the consistency is perfect.
Now, it’s time to make the patties, about 6 of ‘em. You can either freeze ‘em up or grill ‘em right then and there.
After they’re all done, you can add whatever condiments you wish and serve.
S’pose Jimmy would buy my recipe???

I have no doubt Jimmy Buffet would enjoy something as scrumptious as the Killer Eddie Burger!

In addition to Chef Eddie’s over-the-top burger, he is offering up a delightful surf and turf in honor of racing at Daytona.

Chef Eddie has conjured up a fantastic Florida version of Surf and Turf that should not be missed. Once again, Chef Eddie in his own words:

Chef Eddie's Surf and Turf

You'll need the following: per serving

1 - 8 oz. Filet Mignon
1 - Fresh caught Yellowtail Snapper, skinned, deboned and fileted. I buy the whole fish from a Seafood market and have them prep and filet it for me so I can be sure I'm getting Yellowtail, and not some other fish. (If it's a really big Yellowtail, one MAY feed 2 people)
1 - Orange
1 - Peach
Lemon juice
Butter

My first rule for broiling a Filet Mignon cut is don't ruin it with any kind of Marinade or junk like that. You can rub in a little cooking oil and sprinkle on a touch of Sea Salt and maybe grind some Montreal Steak Seasoning on it, but that's all. After doing that, set it aside to allow to get to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to broil and start your grill on high heat, to about 400 to 425 Degrees.

Next, let's start the Snapper. First, make yourself a broiling pouch by unrolling about 2 feet of heavy duty aluminum foil. You want to end up with it looking kinda like a boat and be able to close and seal the top. Cut the orange in half and slice one of the halves into 2 or three slices. Squeeze the juice from the other half into the pouch and lay the fish inside. Place 2 of the orange slices right on top. Then, skin the peach and chop it up and place in the pouch next. Add maybe 2 tsp. of lemon juice and 3 tsp. of butter. Carefully close up the pouch so it doesn't leak. Place on the middle rack of your oven, preheated to broil. Set timer for 12 minutes

Once the fish is in the oven, toss that Filet Mignon on the grill and seer each side until almost crispy on both sides, maybe 4 minutes each side. Yank it off and keep warm by pulling foil over it if need be. Filets should be relatively well done on the outside and bloody on the inside.

After the oven timer goes off, pull the pouch out, carefully, open it up a little and check it by using a fork to see if it flakes. If so, you're done. If not, close and put it in for another couple minutes.

Once the fish is done, slap it and the Filet on a plate, serve with maybe some broccoli or asparagus spears, etc.

Now, if you're lucky enough to be able to share this Florida style culinary delight with a certain special loved one, double everything above, and don't forget the candles. Also, save room for some Key Lime Pie for dessert!!

Great advice, Chef Eddie!

Wishing you all a fantastic holiday weekend! Don’t forget to cheer the drivers on at Daytona for the Firecracker 400.

And try some of Chef Eddie’s recipes, they are every bit as delicious/scrumptious as they sound!

Join me tomorrow for the week ending and always popular Friday Music Blog on Chief 187™Chatter.

About Me

I am the Crew Chief of my family with myriad interests and a sincere desire to expand my friend base. I started as a prolific blogger on the NASCAR fan racing site Rowdy.com. In 2012 I created my own Motorsports radio show and website entitled Drafting the Circuits. As head writer, editor, social media specialist, PR, guest-securer, host, and on-air personality, I took the show to a position in Motorsports that netted my site access as media to major NASCAR Sprint Cup, Xfinity, and NCWTS events, ARCA races, the Indianapolis 500 and other IndyCar events, and the US Grand Prix at COTA in Formula 1! Currently I am writing a book that has nothing to do with Motorsports in my efforts to continuously evolve.

Amazon Contextual Product Ads

Amazon Deals

Amazon Services LLC Associates Affiliation Statement

Chief 187 is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com or endless.com.